Godwin wrote tax measure No argument
by Dan Blackburn
Council candidate Daniel Godwin doesn’t just oppose the proposed city sales tax increase, Measure B. He wrote the opposing ballot argument.
A program manager, and major in the Air Force Reserve, Godwin seeks one of three vacant council seats with an effort to beat down Measure B, and a promise to “restore the city’s fiduciary responsibility, accountability and professionalism.”
Godwin said “the (current) city budget will spend more than $2 million on consulting contracts. It appears there is more money going towards studying and planning versus actually putting that money into what I call realized improvements.”
Godwin takes issue with city officials who “believe more money is needed to maintain local roads, fund public safety, and other necessities.”
He pointed to the $7 million increase in the city’s budget over the past two years.
“There’s more than enough to run this city,” he said. “The amount of revenue that the city is pulling in is enough to handle all the business in town. People need to stand their ground to keep government accountable: vote no on measure B.”
Godwin said he is sensitive to the needs of local alcohol-serving businesses. Owners often find themselves in the crosshairs of law enforcement and City Hall.
“We need to find that balance between restricting people’s freedoms, and ensuring public safety,” he said. “I agree there’s a correlation between alcohol and violence, and disorderly conduct. But at the end of the day, we need to have more collaboration, and communication between businesses, and the police department to find creative solutions to dealing with these issues.”
Godwin said he thinks the downtown bars and restaurants “bring people into town” and that provides a direct benefit to other local businesses. Asked his position on Measure M, the initiative authorizing brick-and-mortar retail marijuana sales cannabis in Hermosa Beach, Godwin said, “I can give you my opinion, and I will. However, this is a community choice and it’s going to be up to voters to decide whether they want retail cannabis in town. The feedback I’ve been receiving from many concerned residents is that this is a public safety concern. There are a lot of negative impacts — liability, easier access for minors.”
He thinks the cannabis initiative on the ballot is not written in the city’s interest, and a taxing mechanism needs to be incorporated to help offset additional municipal costs associated with the businesses.
The current budget contains $450,000 for city attorney office expenditures. According to Godwin, “That doesn’t include settlements or other miscellaneous fees, but $450,000 is more than what the president of the United States makes. And $2.4 million will be spent on the city manager’s office, an increase of 53 percent over the last two years. An increasing paid staff is part of the reason why that budget has increased.”
He expressed concern that ballooning housing values and developers who construct multi-million residences where what he calls “legacy” homes once stood will further exacerbate an economic disparity among city residents.
“If we want to preserve Hermosa’s way of life and our culture, part of that is trying to do what we can to preserve that legacy housing.”
Godwin said his election promises comprehensive budget reviews, prioritizing of spending, improving transparency, addressing community issues and addressing unnecessary bureaucracy. I want to serve the people and support local business by preserving individual freedoms, lessening government overreach, mitigating gentrification impacts and focusing on local initiatives.” ER